WINE COUNTRY
SAMANTHA PAYNE delves into the distinct nuance of New Zealand’s southernmost wine region.
Central Otago, NZ.
Akind of ethereal magic lingers in the air when you walk through the vineyards of Central Otago. There’s a reason Lord of the Rings was filmed there. It is almost as if the land is imbued with a sense of folklore and legend, which is easy to believe when you’re standing at Rippon vineyard, looking out across Lake W¯anaka. It looks like a scene out of The Mists of Avalon or Arthurian legends.
Central Otago, New Zealand’s most southern wine growing region, comprises several distinct sub-regions: Alexandra, Bannockburn, Bendigo, Gibbston, Cromwell (with Lowburn and Pisa) and W¯anaka. And it’s from these sites that some of the most complex and exciting wines in New Zealand are nurtured and developed. While each of these sub-regions lies within close proximity to one another, the distinct, mountainous terrain (not just famous for world-class ski fields) provides each with a unique climate, aspect and altitude.
For years, drinkers and industry alike used to lump all ‘Central Otago pinot noir’ in the same category. It’s only in the last decade that we have started to uncover the nuance within each of these sites with the same reverence we place on the sub-regions of Burgundy. Someone who understands and celebrates these distinctions, whilst also acknowledging the possible reluctance
of drinkers to delve any further into them, is Two Paddocks proprietor Sam Neill. When the acclaimed actor is not running away from a T-Rex or hunting for Wilderpeople, you’ll find him roaming the vineyards he established in 1993.
“I have mixed feelings about ‘sub-regionalism’ in Central Otago,” explains Neill. “On the one hand, I’m deeply committed to it, in that I have four vineyards scattered around the region in all three of the major valleys. On the other hand, it can be confusing to wine drinkers from abroad. It’s hard enough to ask people to remember that we actually grow wine in New Zealand... But all four of my vineyards bring something special to our wines.”
This expression of unique vineyard sites within wine from Central Otago is something Jo Mills, from Rippon in the sub-region of W¯anaka, has witnessed clearly. “I think sometimes there’s a family trend to focus on our history as a farm, but it would be disingenuous to disregard our location.” And with 2019 boasting Rippon’s largest vintage on record, that “sense of responsibility” (as Mills puts it) is weightier than ever. “If we lose the magic of this site, we don’t get it back.” Mills adds: “One of the most rewarding things about living and working on this land is watching how the fruit and land varies from year to year, witnessing their maturation and establishing a clear identity not only from these individual sites but across Rippon as a whole.”
It’s this magic of the land that’s encapsulated in Central Otago wines and makes each glass unique.
The vineyards and wineries described in this story are all within the Otago region, located in New Zealand’s South Island. Māori were the first humans to occupy the region, arriving around 1300. Today, Ngāi Tahu is the principal iwi (tribe) of the South Island.